The pilot was facilitated by the following Gender trainers: Abha Jeurkar & Pravin Thote (Maharashtra), Nitesh Vyas & Rama Sharma (Rajasthan), and Satyaveni Salipalli & Devaprasad Ithi (Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh).
Across all sites, the programme was well received by participants. They expressed that the curriculum brought fresh and relevant content to their communities and was distinct from existing programmes they had encountered. The financial literacy modules were described as particularly useful and engaging. Participants reported improved understanding of key financial concepts, with many women gaining new insight into their household finances and husbands’ earnings. Activities fostered joint reflection on spending and saving practices and encouraged shared financial decision-making within couples.
The gender-transformative components also led to meaningful conversations around care work, communication, and gender norms. While some initial discomfort was observed—particularly among male participants during exercises that highlighted unequal household labour—facilitators effectively guided discussions to support critical reflection. Notably, exercises on active listening were described as impactful by both men and women, contributing to improved communication dynamics within households. Women, in particular, shared that their husbands rarely listened with such attentiveness. Specifically, they explained that through the active listening exercises, their husbands began including them more in financial discussions. This served as a moment of increased self-esteem – recognising their right and their capacity to participate meaningfully in decisions affecting their lives and families.
Overall, there were encouraging signs of potential programme impact, particularly evident during the final session, where participants reflected on their key learnings and experiences from the intervention. Notably, some male participants who had previously restricted their wives from working outside the home began to reconsider these limitations and expressed a willingness to change.
The feedback received from both participants and facilitators informed a range of possible curriculum refinements, aimed at improving its cultural appropriateness, literacy accessibility, and session flow.
These promising outcomes mark an important step toward the ECOVI project's broader implementation, scheduled to begin in randomly selected 50% of the 150 study clusters in November 2025.
